Leave the Past Behind
by Juugonn
Summary: Lusamine is struggling to get her life back together again after the events of ultra space and Wicke is struggling to cope with Faba's bullying and harassment. Guzma attempts to help them both through their traumas but in the process finds himself gaining feelings for both of them but do they feel the same?
1. Suffering

**Author's notes:**

 **This story takes place after the events of ultra space and Lusamine's return to Alola, from Kanto in Sun/Moon, please keep this in mind when reading. An FYI the symbols around the quotes symbolise a dream sequence.**

* * *

 _。 ゚・ₒ°✧_ _I finally felt what fear felt like, it was terrifying!_ _✧°ₒ・゚ 。_

 _∷…∷∷∷_

 _。 ゚・ₒ°✧_ _She's too far gone... she's on another level!_ _✧°ₒ・゚ 。_

 _∷∷…∷∷_

 _。 ゚・ₒ°✧_ _I'm sick of you, you are terrible and selfish!_ _✧°ₒ・゚ 。_

 _∷∷…∷∷_

 _。 ゚・ₒ°✧_ _You don't care about anyone but yourself!_ _✧°ₒ・゚ 。_

 _∷∷∷…∷_

 _。 ゚・ₒ°✧_ _You're too ugly to be worthy of my love._ _✧°ₒ・゚ 。_

These thoughts... these memories that had circled around her mind, continued to haunt her with each passing minute that she tried to pull her life back together again. A broken mirror could be put back together but the cracks always remained visible. No matter how hard she tried to make things right, no matter how much she tried to forget about the past and the horrific mistakes she made, Lusamine was cursed! Her past would continue to haunt her, every time she blinked, in that single millisecond of darkness, all she could see was the look of fear and disappointment on her daughter's face. Her obsession started when she lost her husband and with each passing day, she felt more and more like she deserved to lose him.

" _He'd have been happier without me_ ," Lusamine chanted to herself as the visions of her past haunted her mind. " _without me, he might still be alive..._ " Whilst the disturbing imagery of her aggressive attempts at harming her own family flooded her hallucinogenic vision, the phone that was previously in her hand went tumbling down to the hard tiled floor with a smash as her body went limp. The thought of looking her daughter in the eye after that, the thought of facing her colleagues, her friends... _were they even still her friends_? Surely they had all lost respect for her? She certainly had! It made her nauseous.

Three sharp knocks on the door to her office broke her out of her trance-like state, Lusamine raised her head looking up at the door, it felt heavy, like a ton of bricks were resting on her shoulders. Suddenly, she forgot how to speak. Her best friend and assistant branch chief employee, Wicke, opened her door a crack, peeking her head through the small opening.

"Lusamine? Guzma is here to see you." Her soft voice soothed the aether presidents ears as she returned to a normal state of mind, shaking her head sharply to fully snap out of it.

"T-Thank you, Wicke. Please, send him in." Lusamine replied calmly, clasping her hands on the desk in a professional manner. This was it, the conversation she had dreaded since her return to Alola, her apology to Guzma, the only one who stayed loyal to her through everything, although, she never quite understood why. Wicke fully opened the door to let Guzma through then closed it behind her, not before showing concern in her expression towards her friend. Despite everything that happened, Wicke was the only one who truly never judged Lusamine for anything that she did, she was there for Lusamine's worst moments. She was there to wipe the tears away when her husband went missing for good, she was there to help Lusamine raise her kids whilst maintaining her business. She could see how much she was suffering, therefore her breakdown wasn't a huge surprise to Wicke. She knew that all she could do to help was to continue supporting her no matter what, Wicke was a kind soul, too kind for her own good as Lusamine once put it. The aether paradise had felt like less of a paradise and more of a typical awkward workplace since Lusamine's breakdown, acting like nothing happened was hard for all the employees, one in particular who reckoned that Lusamine wasn't _'fit enough'_ to be the president and resented the majority of the workers in the establishment, he made it especially hard to forget about the past as he often brought it up out of pure badness and jealousy. Lusamine didn't notice this however, as she was too busy trying to make amends, to pay any attention and this is where she felt she needed to start.

"Look... I know that nothing I say can justify my past actions, I'm aware I messed up, I messed up bad! I wish to god I hadn't but I did. If I could go back I would but I can't. All I can tell you is, I'm a different person now, whether you chose to believe that or not is your call but I want you to know that I'm truly grateful that you stood by me even when you knew i was beyond help, I didn't deserve that kind of loyalty especially when I practically threw it back in your face, and for that I apologize. I should never have dragged you into my mess, I'm so sorry Guzma." Lusamine's voice became shaky, as did her hands prompting her to hide them behind the desk. Guzma wasn't entirely sure how to respond to this, he wasn't sure what he was expecting but it certainly wasn't this. His hands fidgeted in his pockets whilst he took her words in. To him, Lusamine was the only person who ever believed in his strength, something his own parents doubted in him. He felt like he owed Lusamine his loyalty, all he ever wanted was someone who saw him as much more that what his reputation suggested. She was his role model, he aspired to have her courage, her dedication to meeting her ambitions, just to be like her in every way and now here she was begging for his forgiveness, how was he meant to feel about this?

"S'alright ma'am." Although the experience was not a good one, it helped Guzma to understand more about himself. "I mean, I should be thankin' ya, I disbanded Team Skull and moved on with my life, if anything this experience has made me a better person." This took Lusamine by surprise.

"Thanking me? You're kidding right? After all I put you through?" Lusamine asked, almost hysterically.

"Well, yeah? I mean, I weren't nothin' before you came along, you helped me understand what exactly I'm suppose to be and for that I can't be mad, can I?" Guzma shrugged, seeming careless.

"Y-You really think I helped you?" She replied in a whisper

"Yeah!" Guzma replied instantly. He couldn't bring it upon himself to be angry at her, as far as he was considered, from what he heard and seen, she'd suffered enough. "Best for us all just to try to get back to focusing on our own lives rather than dwelling in the past, eh?" Lusamine's jaw quivered, she couldn't quite compute why he wouldn't be mad at her like everyone else was. Guzma stared into her eyes, he saw a beauty in her that he'd never seen before, it was like she was a changed woman, he could feel the genuineness emanating from her. For a moment he was lost in her gaze.

"Oh, I ugh, I guess so?" Lusamine stuttered, breaking the eye contact. Usually she was strong, strong enough not to break down in tears but everyday it got a little harder and to hear this now, that she may have helped someone to become a better person, it wasn't sitting well with her suppressed emotions. Lusamine quickly glanced down at the ground so her hair was now covering her face. "Thank you for being so understanding, i don't deserve it."

"You do, more than you know." Guzma finished, earning a last glance from her apologetic glistening eyes before he turned to leave. He closed the door behind him then rested up against it taking a deep breath. He felt something there that he'd never felt before, towards anyone, he just didn't quite know what it was.

Back in the conservation area, Wicke was leaning over the barriers watching peacefully as the Pokémon played in the water, there was something therapeutic about watching Pokémon being carefree and happy, that was the life Wicke always dreamed of. In her daydream she didn't notice her nasty colleague, Faba, approach her from behind.

"Slacking off again?" The sound of his voice cut through her eardrums like glass, her stomach churned every time he was near her. Faba was always picking on her, every little thing about her from her appearance and her personality to her skills and place in aether. Lusamine was never around to see the awful way he treated her, no one ever was. He was sneaky that way, always waiting on an opportunity to get her alone and treat her like dirt. Wicke never told anyone about this for two reasons, the first being that she liked to keep the peace and the second being that she was too afraid of what Faba would do, he was unpredictable and sadistic so she wouldn't put it past him to do something evil to get revenge on her. "I thought I told you to go tidy up my office!" Faba exclaimed.

"I'm your subordinate, Faba, I'm not your slave." Wicke somewhat stood up for herself, this was brave for her, she was usually so timid and would just do whatever he demanded to keep him happy, even if it made her miserable.

"What have I told you about addressing me properly?!" He snapped at her. "And look at me when you're talking to me." Wicke sighed and turned to face him, he got close to her face and spoke through bared teeth, "You really need to learn your place, I don't appreciate your attitude." Wicke tried to back away but the barrier behind her was pressed hard against her back meaning she had no means of escape, the only way she could get herself out of this situation was to submit to his taunting.

"My apologies, it won't happen again." She replied sincerely.

"You're right it won't, if you think for one minute I won't make your life hell than you're wrong!" Faba spat. _More than you already do?_ Wicke thought to herself but didn't dare say it out loud. "Now," Faba shoved her aside, causing her to trip over her own feet almost tumbling to the ground. "get to work!" he snarled, turning his back on her and strutting off towards the elevator. Wicke regained her balance and sighed heavily, being here felt less like a family and more like a prison when Faba was around, she really didn't understand why he picked on her so much, she was only ever nice to him but she realised that didn't matter to him, so long as she was easy to push around, which she knew she was, he would continue to do so and now that Lusamine was around less it was easier for him to target her. There was nothing she could do, she'd just grin and bear it.

Guzma was passing the elevator as Faba got off, not looking where he was going, Faba bumped into the much larger Guzma, who drew him a scowl.

"Hey watch where yer going!" Guzma seethed. Faba was one person Guzma just could not stand, his cocky attitude was repulsive to Guzma as he was nothing but a scrawny incel who thought he was the 'top dog' of Aether. Faba didn't even think about snapping back, he was the kind of guy who would push around weak and timid women as a way to feel powerful because he was too weak and spineless to take on another man. He simply stepped aside and let Guzma pass by him, without a word. Guzma stepped outside and let out a deep sigh, he knew that Lusamine was hurting and there was nothing he could do to stop it, he could feel waves of affection towards her that he'd never felt before and couldn't quite understand. Guzma had never felt emotionally attached to any woman before, he was always more of a ' _do em and ditch em_ ' kind of guy, well he used to be anyway, as for Plumeria, she was more like a sister to him than anything else. He pulled a packet of cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one up, pushing himself up on to the wall to sit whilst he smoked.

"Ya gotta stop feeling like this Guz, pull yourself together!" He pep talked himself, swiftly smacking his palm against his head a few times. He closed his eyes after taking a large inhale of smoke, trying to clear his mind but there was only one thing on his mind and that was Lusamine. He exhaled sharply letting out the puff of smoke. "Why are you on my mind so much?" Guzma inaudibly murmured to himself. He tried to fill his mind with something else, anything else, like what he'd eat later or where he would go tonight. He just wanted Lusamine off his mind. He was eventually snapped out of it when he heard a scraping noise next to him. He turned to see Wicke, kneeling down to pick up a bag of old ripped up research papers that she had accidentally dropped and scattered everywhere, he could see that she looked distressed and upset so he jumped down from the wall and flicked his now burned out cigarette into the nearby trash then knelt down to help her. "Here, lemme give ye a hand with that."

"Oh!" Wicke jumped a little, having not noticed him. "T-thanks but you don't have to do that, it just m-me being a clumsy idiot again." she stammered, hurriedly scooping all the paper shreds back into the trash bag. Guzma tossed all the bits he could find into the trash bag too.

"Hey chill, it's no sweat. What's the big rush, you seem to be in a bit of a state there." Guzma questioned as she pushed herself on to her feet and lifted the bag up.

"I, uh, have a lot to do and if i don't do it quickly-" she stopped herself from revealing anymore, she wasn't fond of the idea of telling Guzma that Faba was bossing her around. "uh..." she pushed her glasses on tighter as they had slid down her face a little.

"Yeah?" Guzma stood up and crossed his arms.

"It doesn't matter." Wicke shook her head then placed the bag into the trash can outside.

"Clearly it is otherwise you wouldn't be looking so worried!" Guzma retorted, tilting his head. "Don't tell me that skinny weirdo is making you do his dirty work for him?"

"I-" Wicke was good at many things but lying, unfortunately wasn't one of them. "I'm just doing some cleaning for him is all, he told me to do it earlier and i never got around to it so i'm just catching up." On the one hand she wasn't keen on telling him that she was being ordered around but on the other hand it felt somewhat of a relief to finally tell _someone_ about it.

"He _TOLD_ you?" Guzma scoffed. "Correct me if i'm wrong but the last time I checked, Lusamine is your boss, not him!"

"Well yes and no, he's technically my superior so as long as Lusamine is busy then yes, he is my boss." Wicke tucked some of her loose violet hair behind her ear, shyly.

"Lusamine would never make you do anything like this or treat ya like some kind of lackey," Guzma raised an eyebrow at her. "so what makes it okay for him to do it?" Wicke opened her mouth but nothing came out, she had no way of defining his actions, up until now she'd only learned to live with it rather than accept it. "Hmph, I rest my case, ya know if you ever want him dealt with," Guzma turned around, his back now facing her. "come find me. I'll be more than happy to take out the trash." Guzma slowly walked off, leaving Wicke in silence. She knew he was right but it was against her nature to provoke harm or violence on anyone, regardless of how badly they treated her. She knew that Faba took her kindness as a weakness and used it against her in any way he could just to feel superior, she was fully aware he was a scumbag but she wasn't brave enough to do anything about it as she had tried in the past and it only led to her being abused in some form or another by him. Wicke let out an exhausted sigh before heading back to Faba's office to finish doing his dirty work, the sooner her shift ended the better.

Lusamine picked her phone up off the ground, the screen was shattered, a good reflection of her feelings at the moment. She sat it down on the desk and rubbed her temples, still trying to get her head around Guzma's response to her apology. _How could he forgive her so easily? Had she really made a change in his life? Had she actually made him into a better person? Was he just lying to avoid conflict?_ These questions circled her mind several times, she felt a wave of anxiety crash over her head and drag her deeper down the road of depression. "I need to get out of here." She said quietly to herself. "I need to face my workers." She got up and headed for the door of her office, freezing right as her hand touched the cold crystal door handle. She could hear the voices of her anxiety in the back of her mind. _They're all going to laugh at you, they have no respect for you!_ It was hard for her to push these thoughts out her head. Lusamine hadn't had a proper conversation with anyone since her return, those months she spent in Kanto over thinking and hating herself had only made matters worse. Lusamine forced herself to pull the handle, exiting her office. She decided to head to the conservation area and treat herself to a little visual therapy to clear her mind before she even thought about trying to converse with anyone.

On her way there, however, she did receive some questionable glances from her workers, she couldn't help but feel like she was an outcast in her own establishment. As she stepped off the elevator, a breath of fresh air filled her lungs, the conservation area was filled with plant life as well as Pokémon, her workers had done a great job of keeping Aether clean and fresh whilst she was gone. The only people in the conservation area at this point were a few workers whose jobs it was to feed and groom the Pokémon but aside from them the area was empty and quiet, this wasn't a huge surprise as it was nearing the afternoon and the end of most of the workers shifts. Lusamine watched carefully as a Lycanroc that had been rescued by her team after being badly injured, groomed and fed it's young, all this could remind her of was how she mistreated her own. Lillie had somewhat forgiven her for her actions, it was thanks to her young daughter that she was alive and well again but Lusamine felt she had dont very little to show her appreciation to Lillie for her courageous actions. Gladion was a different story, her teenage son was already closed up and rejectful of her affections before this had even occurred so however hard it was to regain Lillie's affections it would be ten times harder to do the same for Gladion, especially as he had avoided her since she left for Kanto. Lusamine let out a stressed sigh and stared up to the ceiling. "Where do I even begin?"


	2. A Day Together

The next morning Wicke was walking to work, she had decided to stop and get a coffee before hand, she knew she'd need it as a full day of being pushed around by Faba was ahead of her, she felt nauseous just thinking about it. In Lusamine's absence, Faba had abused his power over the other workers of Aether, especially Wicke. Little did Lusamine know that her workers were really mad that she left Faba in charge in her absence, he was furious when she returned as he was adamant that he'd be the next Aether President but Lusamine wasn't ready to give up just yet. Wicke was over the moon with her best friend's return to Aether however Lusamine's depression caused her to hide out in her office and deal with phone calls and paperwork rather than be out on the work floors, keeping an eye on her workers. She knew she had to pull Lusamine out of her shell and show her that her workers respected her and were glad she was back, however crazy Lusamine once acted, it didn't even come close to the hell that was Faba's reign. In Lusamine's absence Faba had ordered Wicke around like a servant, belittled her, bullied her, abused her emotionally and on a few occasions even shoved her, tripped her, sabotaged her, cornered her and even used his Pokémon against her. Wicke wouldn't put it past Faba to raise his hand to her or hurt her physically, she knew he was total scumbag who resented all women and believed that they were just objects for men to use and abuse.

She took a seat in a booth at the café she'd gone to and sipped her drink, it was lukewarm, just how she liked it. Alola was at its hottest time of year where temperatures were usually between 95°F to 100°F so hot drinks weren't her favourite but she needed the caffeine to get through the day. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice someone had sat down next to her. Guzma had seen her enter the café and decided to go talk to her properly, he was still concerned about the events of yesterday.

"Oh!" She jumped a little as she turned around, now noticing he was there. "How long have you been there?" Wicke asked with a smile, placing her cup down and turning to face him.

"Just a few second, I would have said hi but I wanted to see how long it would take ya to notice I was here. Daydreaming are we?" He chuckled, teasing her. Guzma had never had much conversation with Wicke in the past, he didn't know anything about her. To him, Wicke was just the sweet, timid and exultant woman who was friends with Lusamine, barring that he knew nothing about her, except that she was hot.

"I guess I was." She giggled softly, cupping the mug in her hands again. "What brings you here?" She asked with a soft smile. Guzma bit his tongue, he wasn't sure how to ask her about Lusamine without sounding like he was obsessed with her.

"Uhh, I guess I just wanted to ask ya if you thought the president seemed a bit... I dunno... depressed? She doesn't seem herself, I get that the whole ultra beast thing drove her loopy but she seems hella down." Guzma uttered. Wicke's smile dropped to a blank expression, she didn't _think_ Lusamine was depressed, she **knew** that she was. "I mean, she apologised to me for dragging me through that hell, she never crossed me as the kind of woman who would ask for forgiveness like that." He shrugged.

"Yeah," Wicke played with her hair nervously, something Guzma thought was adorable. "she's definitely suffering in silence. I've tried talking with her but she won't have it, she'd rather lock herself away in her office and be alone." Guzma leaned on his arm, not surprised by what he was hearing. "I've tried, Guzma but she won't even have a conversation with me, she mostly just gives me one word answers, I don't know how else to get through to her." She sipped her coffee.

"That's what I thought, guess it doesn't help that her own kid has a hard time even lookin' her in the eye, huh?" Guzma sympathised, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat. He had tried to reason with Gladion and get him to talk to her but her son was stubborn and wasn't ready to forgive her yet, truly the only person who could convince Gladion to do anything was Lillie, he loved his little sister dearly and would do anything to see her happy but since Gladion was being stubborn Lillie didn't want to talk to him, Lillie only ever wanted a happy family but Gladion always thought that was too easy, he took the loss of his father harshly and never quite got over it.

"True, it hurts me to see her so down. The past is the past. I don't care what happened, I only care about her wellbeing. She's my best friend and I really hate seeing her suffer." Wicke turned to face Guzma. "I know that she's feeling worse than she lets on and that's the worst part, it's not healthy for her to keep her feelings bottled up like that, it'll only make her feel worse." Although she believed this, it made her a hypocrite in a sense as she always bottled up her own feelings about how Faba was treating her. Guzma nodded in agreement, Ordinarily he would prioritized himself over everyone else but this was different, he felt she was somewhat in danger and that he needed to help her before she hurt herself again, as did Wicke. "I love that family, those kids... they've been through so much, it's understandable that they feel resentful towards their mother for not being there when they needed her most but Lusamine took Mohn's disappearance hard and I don't think she'll ever stop blaming herself for it."

"You think so? I mean I never really knew the guy and she never talks about him." Guzma rubbed the back of his neck, awkwardly.

"I know it, trust me, Guzma. I've known Lusamine since we were kids, she acts tough on the outside but that's only a façade to cover up her true self. She feels the need to stay tough to gain respect from her workers and the public eye." Wicke pushed her mug aside. "Anyway, I need to get going, please don't tell her I told you any of this." Wicke asked kindly. Guzma assured her he wouldn't and moved out of the booth to let her out. "I'm going to try talking to her today and see if I can convince her to open up about how she's feeling."

"Good luck with that. You'll need it." Guzma rolled his eyes, jokingly.

"Thanks." She replied with a small laugh. "I know she's closed up but if she doesn't talk to me I fear she won't talk to anyone, she knows that she can rely on me. Guess that makes me useful for something after all." She shrugged. Guzma raised an eyebrow and followed her as she walked off.

"Wait, what do you mean by that? What makes you think you're not useful?" He asked, confusion in his tone.

"Oh uh... n-nevermind. Gotta go." Wicke tried to walk faster but Guzma stopped her, grabbing her arm gently and pulling her back. "Guzma, I really don't have time for-"

"Let me guess, Faba told you that?" He interrupted her, standing in her path so she couldn't go anywhere. Wicke looked uncomfortable, she stared down at the ground, unable to reply as he was right, Faba made her feel this way every single day. She hadn't realised how badly it had taken its toll on her. "Wicke!" Guzma said impatiently.

" **Yes** he told me that, he reminds me of that, every day of my life!" She snapped. "And if it's not how useless I am, it's how dumb I am, how unwanted I am, how nobody at the foundation likes me, how I'm single because im annoying and unlikable, or, and this is my favourite, how Lusamine only gave me this job because she knows I'm a pathetic loser and feels sorry for me!" Guzma was taken aback, he did not expect her to react like that nor be so hostile about it. He took a few steps back to give her some room to calm down, Wicke realised what she had just done and even she couldn't believe herself, she'd never snapped like that at anyone before, it wasn't in her nature at all. "I-I' am so sorry. I never meant to snap like that-" She looked around, realising how loud she had been when she saw everyone in the café staring back at her in surprise. "I have to go." She said in a shaky voice, her lip trembling. She rushed past Guzma and out the door like a shot. Guzma was sure he saw tears glistening in her eyes as she passed him.

"Hey! Wait!" Guzma rushed after her, it didn't take much for him to catch up to her. "Wicke, wait! Please!" Guzma pleaded, causing her to stop in her tracks. Wicke quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, smudging her eye makeup in the process. Guzma, once again, walked in front of her. "I didn't mean to upset ya."

"No you didn't, it's not your fault, it's mine." Wicke gasped for breath. "I shouldn't be taking my problems out on you, you must think I'm such a bitch-" He could tell that she was trying hard to hold back her tears, it was obvious she was hurting bad and needed to vent her distress.

"No! I don't!" Guzma got closer to her. "If it's anyone's fault it's Faba's, why do you let him get to you like that?" Guzma sounded genuine, it comforted Wicke.

"It's been going on for so long, his words just keep building and building, every single day it becomes harder to just ignore him and I- I guess I just can't handle it anymore." She sniffled, taking a tissue out her pocket to dry her cheeks. "Going to work used to be fun for me, I used to have such a great time with the other employees and Lusamine but ever since she left and Faba took charge, going to work has become more of a punishment. Everyday I wake up and i wonder what's coming next." Guzma could see she was getting more and more upset with every word, he felt his heart palpitate.

"What do you mean? What does he do to you exactly? Aside from what you've already told me."

"Well, yesterday he got angry with me for not cleaning up his office when he asked me to and when I tried to stick up for myself he pinned me against the barriers in the conservation area and got in my face. He told me that if I didn't show him the ' _proper respect_ ' and do as he told me, immediately, he'd make my life hell then he pushed me down. Truthfully I can't see how it can get any worse," Guzma's face dropped and his expression turned from concern to pure rage. "and that was only yesterday, he's done worst in the past, like sabotaging my work, deliberately making a mess just so he could make me clean it up, shoving and tripping me when he walks behind me, telling me I'm fat and ugly, one time I bought a new lipstick that I really liked and he told me I looked like a cheep whore and that I was trying too hard for attention so I threw it out. He told me my voice is so annoying that it drives even the Pokémon away, he reminds me how talentless i am, how unimportant I am to the company and I think the worst thing he ever done was commanded his pokemon to attack me, it didn't hit me but it was basically a way to scare me into doing as he said." she continued, cheeks bright red. "He told me that if I tell anyone about it I'll regret it." She was gasping for air at this point as she had spoken so fast she was forgetting to breathe in between.

"HE WHAT!? That filthy little incel thinks he has the right to treat you like that?!" His anger scared her a tad, causing her to back away, Wicke turned away from Guzma and covered her face with her hand. Guzma, without hesitation, pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. Wicke didn't fight it, she took her glasses off and wiped her eyes then buried her face into his shoulder, crying softly. "It's gonna be alright." Guzma rubbed her back and rested his chin on her head, attempting to soothe her.

"I don't know what i did to deserve it, I-I try my best to be nice to everyone and he continues to torment me every opportunity he gets. I don't get it, w-what did I do?" She stammered, sobbing helplessly in his arms.

"You didn't do anything!" Guzma growled. "You did nothin' wrong, you don't deserve any of this, he's just a powerless little weasel that picks on women because he's too much of a coward to hold his own against a dude!" Guzma wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumb. "Look at me," Wicke looked up and into his eyes, he'd never noticed how beautiful her eyes were before, her glasses took the focus off them. "uh.." he was lost in her gaze for a few seconds, forgetting the point her was trying to make then suddenly remembered. "look, moral of the story is, you don't go to work everyday to get abused and bullied, because that's all he is! A bully!" Wicke nodded softly in agreement. "You need to tell Lusamine about this, I'm sure if she found out what was going on she'd probably give 'em the boot!"

"I can't tell Lusamine, she has too much on her mind at the moment." Wicke refused. "Please leave her out of it." Guzma sighed.

"Wicke, look..." Guzma had to choose his words carefully, he didn't want her to get anymore upset than she already was, watching such a sweet person be so distraught was almost physically painful to watch. "it might be in Lusamine's best interest to know this, cause not only will it take her mind off past events but it'll show her that you still respect her and trust her to take care of it. The less you talk to her about this stuff the more alone she's going to feel." Wicke groaned, she knew he was right and she hated that. She was always too afraid of Faba to do anything about it but it had gotten to the point where either she had to get him fired or she herself would have to leave and get another job because working there was becoming insufferable.

"Okay, fine but not today. I just... need to get myself together." Wicke pulled out of Guzma's grip and pulled a compact mirror and an eye pencil out of her purse to fix her makeup.

"Alright, then don't go to work today. Take a day off, call in sick and clear your head, I'll take you out to lunch, my treat?" Guzma offered, he realised this sounded like he was hitting on her but he didn't mean it that way, not entirely. He was attracted to her but he'd never take advantage of her vulnerability like that, he genuinely just wanted to cheer her up and get his own mind off Lusamine.

"I shouldn't-"

"Lusamine can survive one day without you, I'm sure she won't mind. Faba can do his own damn dirty work! C'mon, just come with me or if you don't wanna do that go home and chill for a while. You think about others too much." He was trying to be supportive but he felt deep down that she was too sacred to take a day off in case Faba convinced Lusamine to sack her or would give her twice as much work to do when she returned. "If you wanna go in at any point, I'll come with you, Faba won't say shit to you whilst I'm around, he's terrified of me and so he should be!" Guzma snarled. _Just wait till I get my hands on him._ Guzma thought to himself, he had longed to beat someone's ass, who better than Faba?

"I'm not sure..." Wicke put her glasses back on and placed the compact mirror back in her bag along with her makeup.

"Look, I ain't gonna force ya to do anything ya don't wanna do, I know ya don't know me that well but I'm just trying to help ya out, you're a real nice girl and I hate to see you suffering like this, you don't deserve it, especially not from dirt like him." Guzma said humbly. "So if you wanna go to work then go ahead but at least tell Lusamine what's going on as soon as you do, or let me come with you and I'll have a word with that scrawny loser!"

"NO! Uhm... okay fine I'll call in sick, but just for today." As much as Faba deserved to have his lights busted by Guzma, she didn't want to be the cause of any violence so she got her phone out and texted Lusamine to let her know she wasn't coming in, she just told her she woke up sick and didn't wanna come in and spread anything. Lusamine was fine with this and texted her back wishing her well. Wicke put her phone in her bag and looked at Guzma. "There, happy?" She said somewhat playfully.

"Yeah, I am!" Guzma replied in the same way. There was a short silence as Guzma thought over everything Faba had said to Wicke, _she must be feeling terrible about herself_ , Guzma thought to himself, he had a rough childhood and knew what it felt like to be the outcast, he knew how it felt to have someone make your life a misery, for him that was his father. Guzma's father had abused him in every way possible, verbally, emotionally and physically. Telling him he'd never amount to anything and that no one would ever find him appealing. "And hey? All that crap Faba said to you? It ain't true! You ain't useless, talentless or unloved." He stated. "Heh, and you certainly ain't fat or ugly in any way, shape or form. That abomination has some nerve calling anyone ugly, he looks like a praying mantis." This made Wicke giggle which warmed Guzma's heart. _What's happening to him?_ He thought to himself, why was he feeling this way, why all of a sudden did he care so much for not just one but two different women, it was so out of the ordinary for him to feel sympathetic. "I want ya to know, I'm here if you ever need to talk." He assured her, flashing her a smile which she returned.

"Thank you, Guzma. You're a nice man." _Man?_ He'd never been called a man before in his life, suddenly he felt like the adult that he actually was and not some stupid kid. "I think I'll take you up on that offer for lunch, actually, if the offer is still there?" Wicke moved closer to him, feeling a lot more comfortable in his presence.

"Yeah it is!" Guzma nodded. "C'mon." He gestured for her to follow him and she did, happily. Something about Guzma gave her a warm feeling inside, she barely knew him and yet she trusted him, _why?_ She had no idea but she usually went with her gut instinct and this time it was telling her to trust in him.

* * *

Guzma took her to Wicke to the mall on Melemele Island where they grabbed a bite to eat, it calmed her down and eased her stress a great deal which was Guzma's main focus, he knew eventually he was going to go after Faba but he didn't want to do it whilst she was still feeling bad.

"Feel better?" He asked Wicke after she finished her lunch and drink. She had gone home first and changed into a more weather appropriate outfit, a white summer dress with a frilly skirt attached that was short but not too revealing, a lace waist coat and slip on white shoes, she liked to cover up even in the summer as she wasn't too comfortable with her body, especially with all the taunting she had received from Faba about how _'fat'_ she was. _Lies_ , Guzma thought to himself, she had the body most women dreamed of having, she was gifted with large hips and a nice sized chest, not too huge but just right, that along with her small waist and long legs, it combined well. It absolutely blew Guzma's mind how she could be uncomfortable with her body but he somewhat understood how she must be feeling, being told every day that she's not good enough.

"Yes, much better. Thank you." She smiled, her cheeks showing a faint blush, she wasn't used to guys being genuinely nice to her. The downside to having the body that she did was the amount of guys that would grossly hit on her and make snide comments about what they wanted to do to her, this wasn't fun at all and it made her even more uncomfortable showing her body. "I guess getting away from work for a day is exactly what I needed."

"No problem, it's not fair that you have to go through that every day, y'know. I know that you respect Lusamine's feelings but she needs to know about what's been going on." Wicke looked down at her hands shyly, which were clasped together, resting on her lap. "The more that rat gets away with treating you like dirt, the worse it will get. If you ask my opinion you should cut him off at the source!" Guzma suggested but Wicke drew him a confused glance.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Hit em where it hurts, clearly Faba's main priority in life is to be the boss of everyone, to be high up in his career and to be the ' _top dog_ ' of the Aether Foundation. If he loses his job or even gets demoted that's gonna sting him more than any punch I could give him." Guzma said in a sinister tone which earned a surprised look in return from Wicke.

"Well, we can't exactly guarantee that Lusamine is going to fire or demote him, I mean in the end it's all up to her and she may just let him off with a warning." Wicke shrugged. "I can't go running off to Lusamine, each and every time he is nasty to me only for her to warn him off. It's not like it's worked in the past, has it?"

"What do you mean? What happened in the past?" Guzma asked.

"Well I mean, its common knowledge around Aether that Faba has been after Lusamine's position for years, even she is aware of it but no matter how many times she's warned him off he still goes after it." Wicke rubbed the back of her neck, awkwardly. "Faba is not the type to give up easily, he'll sabotage people's lives until he gets what he wants. In Lusamine's absence things were so much worse, he had everyone slaving after him, when Lusamine came back he was furious, he really wanted her job."

"Tsk, nah. If that is true then Lusamine has all the more reason to ruin his career, you're her best friend. She's hardly gonna stand back and let ya suffer is she?" Guzma moved across the table to get a little closer to her, he wasn't sure if there was any snitches nearby that might report this stuff back to Faba so he wanted to be as quiet as possible. "Look, no one likes Faba! He's a selfish jerk who treats women like trash. He deserves to be put down a notch, and if what you're saying is true then this gives Lusamine better reason to demote him, unfortunately she can't punish him without a valid excuse other than the fact that he's an asshole but knowing all this will give her exactly the excuse she needs. All we need is evidence!"

"But there _IS_ no evidence?" Wicke said glumly.

"You're tellin' me that the whole of Aether don't got any security cameras?" Guzma replied quietly, leaning closer to her. Wicke took a second to think about it and he was right, there **were** security cameras in the conservation area but whether they kept the old footage or not, she wasn't certain.

"Well yeah but even if there is footage of Faba pushing me around, we still can't hear the stuff he's saying to me."

"Maybe so, but we can get that evidence different way. You have a phone right? Next time you're near Faba turn the recording feature on and keep it in your pocket, that way you'll have recordings of all the nasty stuff he says to ya." Guzma smirked. "I mean, video evidence along with recordings of his nasty insults is plenty evidence we need to take him down."

"You've really thought hard about this, haven't you?" Wicke commented, noticing his eagerness.

"Listen, if there's one thing that being around Lusamine has taught me it's that if you really want something, you can achieve it, there's always a way. I know that you don't like violence so me going in and kicking his ass ain't gonna do anything, 'cept get me thrown out. If he wants to abuse his power over you then you need to use that against him!" He could see she was worried but he knew this could work, Faba was predictable, he'd very likely fall into this trap with minimal effort.

"I dunno Guzma, this is all easier said than done." She started to feel nervous again, she wasn't sure that she could pull anything this clever, off. "I mean, just talking about it is making me nervous, how am I gonna act in the situation?"

"You'll be fine, I'm here to help you. I'll do anything to see that idiot get what he deserves, even if it means not getting to beat him to a pulp." _That part comes later_ Guzma thought to himself. He reached across the table and took her hands into his, to get her attention. Wicke blushed a little harder when he did so. "At least give it a try, if you can't do it then we'll figure something else out but trust me, this could work!" Wicke sighed softly then nodded in agreement, she wasn't fully comfortable with any of this but what choice did she have?

"Alright fine, we'll try. Can we please drop the subject now, seeing him when I'm at work is bad enough, I don't want to spend my day off talking about him."

"Sure, sorry. I won't bring him up again, but first thing tomorrow we're going to work on this, agreed?" Guzma looked her in the eye, seeing hesitation in her expression. She knew he wasn't going to give up on this so she just decided to go along with it.

"Agreed."

After their meal they decided to go sit down by the Melemele beach for a while and relax, they never spoke another word about Faba but rather they got to know each other a bit better, Guzma told her all about his past and how he got to where he is today and Wicke told him all about how she came to be part of Aether and her friendship with Lusamine. Wicke never expected Guzma to be so understanding, she expected him to be a cringy typical tough guy, like how his reputation has suggested he was but he wasn't, he had a nice side to him that she liked. Wicke never really had many male friends as she typically had nothing in common with men, especially the ones who just talked to her because she was hot. Guzma, however, seemed genuinely interested in her life and her thoughts and feelings which was nice, it reminded her of how close she used to be with Lusamine before she lost her husband. They two were sat down on the sand watching the tide go out, the beach was quiet as it was still work hours so not a lot of people were around, it was peaceful.

"I dunno, I guess it's hard to really know my true place there when I don't really have any real skills..." Wicke continued, in a conversation they were having about her place in Aether.

"Of course you have skills, Lusamine wouldn't have you there if you didn't. You're just as important as anyone else there, you look after the Pokémon and you do a good job of it," Guzma replied with sincerity in his voice. "and I'm not just saying that to make you feel better, I mean it." He turned to look at Wicke who was hugging her knees and had her eyes closed, deeply breathing in the fresh ocean air. "Y'okay?" Guzma asked, nudging her arm softly.

"Yeah, I'm just admiring the peace and quiet, I wish I got to do this more often, it's a nice way to relax." She replied, opening her eyes and watching the Wingull flying over the waves. Guzma gazed at her with admiration, in such a short time he'd gotten to know this woman and she was literally the sweetest person he'd ever met, she had a kind heart and she deserved to know how important and special she was. "It's beautiful isn't it?" She said in a quiet voice, fixated on the sparkling ocean in front of her. The water reflected in her eyes, making them shine.

"Yeah it is." Guzma replied, not looking at the ocean but rather at Wicke. She turned her head around slowly, realising he was staring at her.

"You're not even looking." She said with a smile. Guzma's expression was soft and relaxed, like he was looking at something he truly adored. He didn't even realise how fixated he was on her but it wasn't creepy, it was sweet.

"Yes I am." He replied in a soothing voice. Wicke's expression went from smiling to surprised instantly, her eyebrows raised and a deep blush spread over her face. A momentary glance at Guzma's lips then back to his eyes prompted him to move his head closer to hers, so many thoughts were rushing through her head but the only one she heard loud and clear was telling her to move in too. Just as she started slowly moving her face closer to his, a voice interrupted them.

"Guzma!" A female voice shouted from the walls of the beach, behind them. The two jumped and snapped out of their daze, turning to see Guzma's best friend and adopted sister Plumeria heading towards them. Wicke quickly moved away from Guzma so there was a gap between them. Plumeria sat down in between them and smirked teasingly. "I wondered where you'd gotten to, I should have known." Guzma's cheeks brightened just as Wicke's had a few moments before their interruption, he looked away from Plumeria and towards the sea.

"We weren't doin' nothin, just talkin'. The Prez is in a bit of a depression at the moment and that Faba is trying to steal her job, we were planning on how to get him the boot." Guzma retorted. Wicke wasn't too comfortable with him telling Plumeria their plans but she didn't say anything as she didn't want to offend her in any way by suggesting she may sabotage their plans. Plumeria reacted with a sigh and an eye roll, she knew how much Guzma admired Lusamine but she thought that sometimes he put too much effort into making her happy whilst Lusamine just used him for her dirty work. Plumeria was protective of Guzma, she was there to comfort him when his family mistreated and used him and she didn't want to see it happen again with Lusamine.

"Guzma, It's not your job to fix her problems for her." Plumeria complained. "She needs to deal with her own issues, what has she ever given you in return for helping her out, huh? Apart from using you and endangering your life?" This earned her a scowl from Wicke, she wasn't too keen on hearing her best friend be slandered like this, she knew Lusamine wasn't in a fit state of mind when any of those incidents went down so to judge her for it was rude and frankly not Plumeria's place, even if she was just being protective, Wicke decided that she'd had enough and slid her shoes back on.

"It weren't like that, you don't know her like I do." Guzma groaned, getting annoyed at her interference. Wicke stood up and brushed the sand off her dress before turning around and heading off. Guzma's head swung round when he saw her start to walk off in his peripheral vision.

"Hey where ya going?" He jumped to his feet and chased after her.

"I gotta get going, I don't like staying in the sun too long, i burn too easily." Wicke said with a fake smile, she _was_ telling the truth but it was mainly an excuse just to get out of this situation. Guzma looked disappointed and annoyed that Plumeria has just scared her off, he wasn't stupid, he knew she was making an excuse to leave. "Look, thank you so much for today, it really helped. I'll see you around, okay?" Wicke reached out and touch his arm. A shiver ran through him as her hand made contact with his bicep, he nodded and decided to just let her go home, they had just spend the entire morning and afternoon together, any more than that would seem like a date.

"Alright, I'll be at the Aether Foundation tomorrow anyway, remember our agreement. I'll see ya then, hopefully that moron doesn't give ya too much trouble before I get there." Wicke smiled and nodded then turned around and headed home. Guzma watched her walk off then turned to face Plumeria who had stood up and watched their exchange.

"What was that all about? Do you like her or something?" She asked him in a teasing voice.

"Cut it out, I'm just trying to help her, she's getting bullied by that weasel, Faba and she doesn't deserve it, she was upset so i cheered her up a bit, that was all. Did ya have to start smack talkin' her best friend like that right in front of her? No wonder she left." Guzma stormed off angrily, Plumeria just shook her head and sighed heavily, she knew that he didn't mean to snap at her. However, she'd never seen him this dedicated to helping anyone before, although she knew how much Guzma admired Lusamine, she didn't understand why. _After all she put him through, why did he still want anything to do with her?_ Plumeria thought to herself, but she supported him no matter what he did, he was like family to her so she just shook it off and followed him back to Po Town.


End file.
